Revisiting Trust and Control

Abstract

This study investigates the interaction between trust, social control, output control, and perceived performance (measured as the buyer's satisfaction) for the relationship of pharmacies with their primary drug wholesalers, where both parties are SMEs.A model generated by qualitative analysis is tested with survey data from 360 Turkish pharmacies.The results suggest a positive association between trust and social control and a negative association between trust and output control, in addition to a substitutive relationship between trust and output control regarding perceived performance.A positive association is found between social control and perceived performance, but output control seems to have no effect on the latter. Finally, output control and social control are negatively associated with each other and have a substitutive relationship while predicting perceived performance. While focusing on small businesses in a service industry, the study contributes to the general debates on the interrelationships of trust, control, and partnership performance.